Friday, February 19, 2010

A lot of sports writing is about covering games and talking Xs and Os and digging through stats (as you're no doubt aware after my past few weeks of posts), but the best interviews and stories for me are the ones where you really get to talk about what it means to be human in the world of sports. That's what fascinates me anyway. So much of sports reporting is dealing in cliches, so when you get a chance to talk to someone about their real feelings, it's always worthwhile.

The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame inductions are this weekend, and among those being honored is recently retired Georgia gymnastics coach Suzanne Yoculan, who has always been one of those people who is more than happy to be honest and open when doing an interview. And given the fact that the past few months have represented a major turning point in her life, my interview with her this week was certainly no exception.

So, while I have a brief story up at Macon.com on her induction, I figured it was worthwhile to post a few of the highlights of our conversation here, too. Here goes...

On what her induction to the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame means now that she's retired..."When you're actively coaching, the competition is what you're actively involved in. It's an honor to be recognized for everything we've accomplished, but personally I think the team is what should be recognized. They're the ones that won the championships. But certainly I've worked really really hard to put Georgia gymnastics on the map, and I'm honored that the state hall of fame is recognizing that."

On whether the induction helps put her career into perspective..."I think that's pretty much the biggest thing. Not meaning this in a vein way at all, but if you stand back and look, I mean, who would have believed that Georgia gymnastics would have grown into what it is today? I came here from the very beginning with the philosophy that there's no dream too big. I'm just one of those fighters that, as long as I have a vision, I just stay the course. I think more than anything else, it's a testament to the importance of having a vision and standing for something and fighting for what you do believe in, which is really what Georgia gymnastics is all about."

On her role as the lone woman entering the Hall this year..."Women's sports, it's just like with the hall of fame -- I mean, how many women are even inducted into it? I don't even know, but I'm the only one this time, I think. And it's not just women's sports, but women coaches. There's just not as many women out there that are coaching programs to the top. The recognition to me, it just inspires other young women to try to accomplish the kinds of things we were able to with Georgia gymnastics."

On being inducted less than a year after coaching her final meet..."Receiving the recognition one year after retirement and at a young age, it's really significant, and I want to praise the Hall of Fame, the board members for making this decision. If you wait 10, 15, 20 years to recognize someone for something that's been done, that they were part of -- to me it means so much more when it is more recent. I'm still living the love of Georgia gymnastics. It's still a part of my life, and the memories are still so recent, that the recognition to me means that much more."

On what life has been like since retiring..."It's been horrible (laughs). Retirement's been great, and I'm not bored, so I don't want to sound like that. And the flexibility was what I wanted, and I have that. I'm enjoying the flexibility and spontaneity of my life. … But being in Athens a year following retirement was a mistake. It would have been better if I'd sort of left town and taken up residency somewhere else. It's very difficult because my identity has always been Georgia gymnastics, and being here, especially during gymnastics season and not having a connection to the program has been really difficult for me. I miss the girls terribly, and I miss the action. I loved the competition, and Friday night backgammon just doesn't cut it."

On how she handles being a fan now..."I don't visit the team, and I didn't go to the gym all fall. I commentated six meets, not all Georgia, so that's given me a connection with gymnastics that I've really enjoyed, and I'm hoping that will grow into more next year. This was sort of my audition year. I did two Georgia meets already, and I have another one coming up I'm going to be doing. And the last two competitions when I wasn't commentating, I was a fan in the stands for the first time. It was weird. It was the first time in 26 years that I wasn't coaching on a Friday night. It's very different to be in the stands, and I really did miss it a lot when I was watching. I've kept in contact with the girls, obviously I still have a relationship with them. But I've tried to keep my distance. I really think it's better for the current coaches if I do. I don't want to hover or linger longer."

On balancing her coaching instincts with the need to remain separate from the team..."It was really easy commentating. I fell into that role naturally. I love gymnastics and I've always been pretty objective in terms of evaluating our own team and other teams. So I fell into that. It was a pretty natural job for me because I like talking and I love gymnastics. I get excited when I talk about it, and I think I bring a lot of that to the telecast. Sitting in the stands was just not a natural fit at all. I'm not one to sit and watch. I'm a doer. I find myself saying, 'What are they doing that for?' and 'They need to change this' and just talking to myself. And of course, fans wanted to come over and ask me questions. You don't want to be critical, so you have to be careful what you say and lend support for the team and the new coaches that they deserve. But that's difficult because my coaching instincts do kick in when I'm sitting there watching. I don't enjoy being a fan of Georgia gymnastics right now. I am a fan, and I'm behind them all the way, but I don't enjoy sitting in watching. I feel like in a couple years I'll be able to, but there are girls on the team I coached for three years, and obviously it still pulls at the heart strings, and when it's over, everybody's hugging and I'm not."

On the reaction she gets from people since her retirement..."It is strange because the questions are all similar. It's really strange because my retirement from coaching is very different from most people. I wasn't burned out, and I'm not at retirement age. I don't even get a retirement check. It was a strange timing in terms of what most coaches do, especially with the success we had, the five championships in a row. Many people thought I would change my mind. But it's -- the whole thing is strange, and I don't really know what to say. Being recognized by the Hall of Fame is strange, too. It's almost like you try to move on, and you can't. It's like, 'What do you think of the meet?' and 'Oh, the hall of fame.' It's an honor, but at the same time…"

On whether it was harder to start the Georgia gymnastics program or to leave it..."This is the hardest thing I've ever done right now. I've always been a fighter, and working to build Georgia gymnastics into what I envisioned it to be was, to me, just what you do. You work, you fight, you persevere, you have a plan, you have a long-term plan, you have a little success and that gets you motivated, you have a little more and get more motivated, and my energy level and passion and enthusiasm and love for the sport and my belief in Georgia gymnastics has done nothing but grow and grow in the last 26 years. To just have it end all at once was a lot more difficult than I thought it was going to be. It's not the identity -- well, when I'm out of Athens, it's great because I can do other things without an identity to Georgia gymnastics. … It's really hard to explain. I'm doing a lot of keynote speaking, which I really enjoy. I did one in Nashville last week, and when I sat there at the beginning of the speech and watched the video of the team, the introduction of it, it really was just like, wow, I was so proud. And I guess that's what I have to remember is that it's not so much what I've lost, what I no longer have because I'm retired, it's the memories that I really have to hold on to and celebrate."

Suzanne- regardless of how brash and/or abrasive she might seem to be to the uninitiated- was a class act from start to finish. My wife and I kinda hoped that she'd coach until the absolute bitter end, but we do understand why she felt the need to move on.

Glad to hear she's doing well, and that she's maintaining a connection to the Gym Dawgs-- they can only benefit.

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About the Author

Seth Emerson has been covering the SEC and Georgia (on and off) since 2002. He worked at the Albany Herald from 2002-05, then spent five years at The State in Columbia, S.C., covering South Carolina. He returned to Athens in August of 2010, only to find that David Pollack and David Greene were no longer playing for the Bulldogs. Adjustments were made.

Emerson is originally from Silver Spring, Md., and graduated from Maryland in 1998 with a degree in journalism and a minor in getting lost on the way to practically everywhere. Then he spent four years at The Washington Post, covering small colleges, a couple NCAA basketball tournaments, and on one glorious day, was yelled at by Tony Kornheiser. It was probably at The Post that he also learned to write in the third person.

These days he lives in Athens with his beloved and somewhat wimpy dog, Archie. Together they fight crime at night in northeast Georgia, except on nights there is no crime, in which case they sit at home, sip on white wine and watch reruns of "Mad Men."